ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS BOARD DATE: 10 October 2019 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20190009699 APPLICANT, THE SON OF A DECEASED FORMER SERVICE MEMBER (FSM), REQUESTS: award of the Army Commendation Medal (ARCOM) and Purple Heart (PH) for his deceased father. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * applicant email correspondence * Headquarters, 12th Armored Division General Orders Number 98, dated 9 August 1945 * Certificate of Merit * WD AGO Form 100 (Separation Qualification Record) * Honorable Discharge Certificate * WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation – Honorable Discharge) * birth certificate, dated 10 January 1951 * death certificate, dated 3 July 1974 * Bronze Star Medal Certificate, dated 16 September 1985 * National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) letter, dated 29 May 2019 FACTS: 1. The applicant did not file within the three year time frame provided in Title 10, United States Code (USC), section 1552(b); however, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) conducted a substantive review of this case and determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file. 2. The FSM’s military service record is not available to the Board for review. A request was made of the NPRC to obtain the applicant’s service record, but his records were unavailable. A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members’ records at the NPRC in 1973 and his records were potentially affected by the fire. His case is being considered using the evidence the applicant provided. 3. The applicant states: a. He would like his deceased father to be considered for award of the ARCOM based on his attached service records. Since his father received a Certificate of Merit and the Bronze Star Medal, he is asking the Army to award his father the ARCOM. b. He would also like his father’s medical records to be reviewed to verify his eligibility for the PH based on wounds he received in action, however not referenced on his WD AGO Form 53-55. Please excuse the “gross description,” but when his father was alive he used to dig out the small pieces of shrapnel that would come to the surface of his legs and keep those pieces in a small bottle. He didn’t talk a lot about what took place when he was in World War II. He just said that he was in a half track and something had blown up near them and he got the shrapnel in his legs. He believes some of the others on his father’s crew may have been wounded as well. The applicant knows it is an honor to receive the PH so he would like to request his father receive it if it can be verified in the records or through other crew members that he did in fact receive wounds deserving of this award. c. He is not alleging an error or injustice, but rather a review to see if his father meets the requirements for award of the ARCOM and the PH. He is 68 years old and wants to pass his father’s medals on to his own son along with all he can share about his father’s sacrifice in World War II. He wants his son to understand all his father went through to liberate Europe and give them freedom. His father didn’t talk about it; he wishes he had so he would know more. 4. The FSM was inducted into the Army of the United States on 6 August 1943 and served in the European Theater of Operations from 10 October 1944 through 10 April 1946. 5. His WD AGO Form 100 shows he held military occupational specialty 345 (Truck Driver, Light) in that capacity supervised German prisoners of war in the loading and unloading of trucks with lumber, gravel, bricks, building materials, etc. He transported prisoners to and from places of work. He lubricated the vehicle, serviced it with fuel, and kept it in good operating condition. He also drove a 10 ton wrecker, hauling broken down vehicles back to camp for repairs. 6. Headquarters, 12th Armored Division General Orders Number 98, dated 9 August 1945, awarded him and his fellow enlisted members of the 57nd Anti-aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, the Certificate of Merit for meritorious and outstanding performance of military duty from 7 December 1944 through 5 May 1945, in Eastern France and Western Germany. These men displayed outstanding ability as cannoneers of Battery D for approximately 150 days under severe weather conditions, often under enemy fire, in aiding to provide complete anti-aircraft protection to Combat Command B and the destruction of enemy aircraft. 7. He was honorably discharged on 14 April 1946. His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he received no wounds in action. It shows he was awarded or authorized the: * American Campaign Medal * European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal * Army Good Conduct Medal * World War II Victory Medal 8. There is no evidence in his military records he ever sustained a wound in action against an enemy or as a result of hostile action or that such an injury required medical treatment which was made a matter of official record. 9. The FSM passed away on 3 July 1974. 10. The applicant provided a Bronze Star Medal Certificate, which shows the FSM was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious and outstanding performance of military duty from 7 December 1944 to 5 May 1945 in Eastern France and Western Germany. BOARD DISCUSSION: 1. After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board found the relief is not warranted. 2. There is not documentary evidence showing that the applicant is eligible for award of the Purple Heart. In accordance with regulation, there is no documentary evidence to verify that the applicant was wounded as a result of hostile action, that the applicant received medical treatment from a medical officer for a wound, or that there is any official military record of medical treatment for a wound. 3. The applicant does not meet the eligibility requirements for award of the Army Commendation Medal. According to regulation, the applicant must be recommended for the Army Commendation Medal by an official who has first-hand personal knowledge of the event, or have been senior in grade at the time of the action(s) or service, to the individual being recommended for an award. Additionally, the recommending official must have knowledge of all the action(s) or service cited. That is, the recommending official must have either observed the actions or been provided information by an individual who observed the actions. Further, recommending officials who did not personally witness the action must have been associated, by virtue of their position in the command, with the incident and/or the individual being recommended for the award. If the recommending official is not the commanding officer, the commander, if available, must endorse the recommendation. 4. The Board did note and is grateful for the applicant’s Father's honorable, patriotic, and faithful service during World War II. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 : : : GRANT FULL RELIEF : : : GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING :X :X :X DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice. Therefore, the Board determined the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned. X CHAIRPERSON I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case. REFERENCES: 1. Title 10, USC, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within three years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice. This provision of law also allows the ABCMR to excuse an applicant's failure to timely file within the three-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. 2. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual and unit military awards. a. The Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained in action against an enemy or as a result of hostile action. Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. b. The Army Commendation Medal may be awarded to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States who, while serving in any capacity with the Army after 6 December 1941, distinguishes himself or herself by heroism, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service. c. The Army Commendation Medal must be recommended for award to a Soldier by an official must have first-hand personal knowledge of the event, or have been senior in grade at the time of the action(s) or service, to the individual being recommended for an award. Additionally, the recommending official must have knowledge of all the action(s) or service cited. That is, the recommending official must have either observed the actions or been provided information by an individual who observed the actions. d. Recommending officials who did not personally witness the action must have been associated, by virtue of their position in the command, with the incident and/or the individual being recommended for the award. If the recommending official is not the commanding officer, the commander, if available, must endorse the recommendation. If it is no longer possible to route the recommendation through the commander (for example, the commander is deceased), a signed statement to the effect must be included. In this case, another officer who has knowledge of the action(s), and who was senior in the chain of command of the individual being recommended during the period for which recognition is desired, may endorse the recommendation. NOTHING FOLLOWS